Press release -
Reaching the Gold standard in the Highlands
A west Highland guest house with stunning views across Loch Linnhe to the Ardgour Hills has been awarded a Four Star Gold Quality Assurance (QA) award from the national tourism organisation.
Lochview House, which sits in an elevated position in the hillside above Fort William, has been run by Karen and Vince Dean since 2015. They bought the property in 2014 and have substantially invested in Lochview following advice and support from VisitScotland through its QA scheme. The ‘Gold’ part of the award represents the continuing attainment of outstanding customer service and hospitality.
The property, situated in the Outdoor Capital of the UK, has five ensuite guest bedrooms (a number of which have loch views), two suites, a self-catering apartment and a guest lounge with a range of games, books and information on what to see and do in the local area.
There is also a drying room, secure outdoor facilities for bikes or other equipment including skis, mature gardens with panoramic views and wildlife, free Wi-fi and private parking. Lochview is a 10-minute walk from the town or a 20-minute drive from Ben Nevis.
Karen and Vince bought Lochview after visiting Scotland for many years and deciding to move to Fort William as they loved the area so much.
Karen said: “We are extremely proud to receive our Four Star Gold award from VisitScotland this year. When we moved to Fort William in 2014 we knew we wanted to make Lochview a haven for guests to come and explore the Highlands.
“Our primary focus has always been offering excellent customer service as well as those lovely little extras like shortbread and tea on arrival and tartan teddies in our rooms. In addition, we also wanted to invest in making our guesthouse a homely atmosphere for guests to relax and enjoy their holiday.
“With advice from VisitScotland, we completely refurbished our home with new bathrooms, the creation of two new suites and new furniture throughout the house. We are so happy our guests like what we offer and it's lovely to see many of them coming back to stay again and again in this beautiful part of Scotland.
“We would like to thank VisitScotland for recognising our achievement and being there to support us.”
Developed over the last four decades in partnership with the tourism industry and informed by visitor research, VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance (QA) schemes are world-leading.
Delivering a quality experience that meets and exceeds visitor expectations is crucial in making Scotland a must-visit, must-return destination. QA stars shown alongside online reviews give visitors a balance of objective and subjective views to assist in their decision making and expectations.
Ken Massie, VisitScotland’s Head of Strategic Partnerships, said: “Karen and Vince should be congratulated on their attainment of this Four Star Gold award, which not only demonstrates a high level of quality but also the continuing attainment of outstanding customer service and hospitality.
“VisitScotland staff were able to inform Karen and Vince about the most effective investments to make in their business based on experience, knowledge of visitor expectations and trends and understanding of best practice.
“The benefits of Quality Assurance aren’t just for visitors – the confidence that comes from QA keeps businesses on top of their game and ultimately the increased opportunities it creates puts cash in the till.”
For more information, visit www.lochview.co.uk
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- quality assurance
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- To ensure everyone can safely enjoy Scotland’s amazing countryside and landscapes, VisitScotland encourages all visitors to fully respect their surroundings by behaving in a responsible and appropriate way.
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh) 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
